GMAT Strategy

I believe I share the same goal as many who join this forum, which is to obtain our desired lofty GMAT score. I visit the site regularly and lurk in the shadows without posting or replying to posts. I'm scheduled to take my first GMAT on October 8th. I have been studying, not as frequently as I would like, but I have put in a good amount of time. As the test approaches, I've started to better understand my various weaknesses and that I'm not ready for the examination. Not ready due to my lack of progress in various areas and not scoring close to acceptable desired GMAT scores. I'm self aware and understand I'm not ready yet. (Always a frustrating thing to grasp and deal with.) I also understand that I should seek assistance outside of self-study.

If possible please share any advice on rescheduling your GMAT exam. I know the basics of cost and time frame needed. Any insight on benefits/drawbacks would be appreciated.

Also, any advice regarding Test Prep companies would be helpful. I read the many success stores which detail the testing company used and then become a little skeptical. (Blame the skepticism on growing up in the age of digital catfishing and trolling.) Any advice on selecting a test prep company would be helpful to decipher the many products/services in the market.

Hi dggiles.

From what you said, it sounds to me as if you should definitely reschedule. I have seen people take the exam before they are ready, and generally doing so is pretty pointless. I mean sure, you would get the experience of taking the test, but from what I have seen, people go in under prepared, score under their targets and don't get much out of having done so.

To determine what new date to schedule on, you have to consider your progress to date, what you think you have to do in order to hit your score goal and how long doing that will likely take.

Be aware that people can be surprised by the intensity and duration of the preparation that turns out to be necessary for hitting their score goals. You have to be realistic about those things too, and may have to step up what you are doing some in order to hit your goal within a reasonable time frame.

As far as test prep companies go, what you would be best off doing and with whom you would be best off doing it in terms of taking a class or working one on one depends on how you learn, what you have accomplished so far and what your score goal is.

Be aware that from what I have seen, much of what test prep companies do may not significantly change what you have going on, and that depending on your score goal and what you have to do in order to reach it, what they teach and do may or may not help you that much. If what you require is some structure and to not have to teach yourself about every little thing that shows up on the GMAT, a test prep company may provide that. If you have to make major strides in order to hit your score goal, depending on what those strides entail, you may not get what you need by taking a general class.

Also, different companies have different styles. One style would likely work better for you than another.

Some of the major companies offer a first class free. Maybe attending some of those would help you to decide which way to go.

I can add the following too. Whether they are self preparing or taking classes, one of the major reasons I have seen for people having trouble increasing their scores is that they are doing all of their practice questions timed. While doing practice questions timed has its place, one is best served by most of the time taking the time necessary to learn to get the answers to questions and speeding up naturally as one develops skill. Constantly people come to me unsatisfied with the results of their preparation, and often one of the changes we make is having them go from doing practice questions timed to doing them untimed. So no matter what anyone tells you, be sure to do most of your practice untimed. Getting wrong answers in two minutes each is almost a complete waste of time.

Marty,

Thank you for the advice. I really appreciate it. I think I needed to hear a different perspective to reassure me that I was making the correct decision. The big deciding factor now will be what date to set for the exam. I don't get big nerves on tests, because I have confidence that if I know it I will be fine. The major issue with taking the test is that I know I don't know what I need to yet. And I don't want to just take the test for experience, because I feel that would be a waste of my money and time. Your GMAT Geniuses Q&A was great and helped fuel the motivation tank.

I've seen a lot of the testing companies offering the free class. I will try to test them all out. The biggest issue is the frequency of my travel, so I would work best in an online or one on one format. Over this week I will do some researching regarding the pros/cons of the many programs.

Rich,

Thank you for the advice. I will definitely reschedule. I just need to decide on the date I will extend it to. Here is a bit of information regarding my goals:

Studies:
1.) In total for 2.5 months. I've focused a lot on timing myself and not exactly mastering the sections. I also moved to additional sections before mastery due to trying to follow a self imposed plan to cover everything before the testing date.
2.) I've used the Official GMAT Guide, Princeton Review, Manhattan GMAT Guide Sentence Correction, Kaplan Math, GMAT Prep Now
3.) I've taken 3 Tests, here were the results:
GMAT Prep - 570 (37-Q, 31-V), Princeton Review - 550 (34-Q, 32-V), Veritas - 560 (36-Q, 32-V)

Goals:
4.) Goal Score would be 700
5.) Originally scheduled Oct. 8th, but that will be pushed back.
6.) I would apply to Business School to attend in Fall 2018 or Fall 2019
7.) Haven't determined the list of schools, because I was going to wait until I received my GMAT scores. I am going to apply to a few Consortium schools and a couple dream schools. I will for sure apply to UT-McCombs and Rice-Jones. And a couple of east coast dream schools.

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